CSR reporting communication: Defective reporting models or misapplication?

This paper studies whether the failure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices to enable effective CSR communication allowing stakeholders to appreciate firms' CSR is due to the reporting model guiding firms in elaborating sustainability reports, the companies' applica...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: García Torea, Nicolás, Fernández Feijoo, Belén, Cuesta, Marta de la
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Burgos (UBU)
Repositorio:Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos (RIUBU)
OAI Identifier:oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/8891
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10259/8891
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Communication theory
GRI
GRI guidelines
Reporting guidelines
Sustainability report
Economía
Economics
Descripción
Sumario:This paper studies whether the failure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices to enable effective CSR communication allowing stakeholders to appreciate firms' CSR is due to the reporting model guiding firms in elaborating sustainability reports, the companies' application of the model, or both. Drawing on the communication theory and using interpretive textual analysis, the paper specifically assesses Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, the most widespread CSR reporting model worldwide, and its application by a leading sustainability reporter. The findings indicate that GRI guidelines suffer from significant limitations that hamper the production of reports accounting for CSR impacts. This paper contributes to critical research on CSR reporting practices and calls for redirecting current reporting practice towards a more effective approach. Additionally, it also responds to the need to approach CSR reporting research relying on theories different from the one commonly used.